Deathly Stars
by loserlemur
Summary: As Tarver and Lilac travel to escape the eerie, uncivilized planet that they crashed into, they start to hear whispers again. This time, however, there is no coppery taste. They’re real. They find some unexpected guests that are willing to help them.
1. Chapter 1: Lilac

**Lilac**

I start hearing the whispers again. They're getting more and more distinguishable the closer we get to the crash site, but these are different. There's no coppery taste that the visions gave, and I could catch actual conversations, a huge contrast to the noises the visions always make. It usually sounds like they're performing some kind of ritual, but these are actual conversations, and they don't sound fun. They sound pained to say the very least. There are three of them, three Brits that sound to be about my age. I look up at Tarver and realize with a jolt that he's hearing them too. He has his Gleidel in his hand and his jaw is tight. He puts his index finger to his lips. I nod, then listen in horror as he starts to call out to these people.

"Who's there? I'm armed, but I'm willing to play nicely if you are," Tarver calls out as we continue to walk toward the noise. I nudge him roughly.

"Why would you do that?" I hiss. He silences me again with a wave of his hand. As we get closer to the whispering, I start to hear buzzing in my ears that block out the sound. I look at Tarver and from the look on his face I know that he feels it too. We exchange bewildered looks before he starts fiddling with his gun's trigger. He calls out again.

"Just come out, we're not going to hurt you! We're willing to help you if you're willing to help us!" There was a silence between the two of us as the buzzing started to gradually fade. I hear the three voices arguing about who's going to come out, until finally the female volunteers to do it.

I glance at Tarver, who tightens his grip on the Gleidel as we hear footsteps coming from where the noise was. I watch as the girl steps out from something that doesn't exist. Her brown hair is pulled back into a loose ponytail on the crown of her head and her brown eyes have dark circles underneath them. But she stands straight, her shoulders back, some kind of stick in her hand. It could be anything from what we've seen on this planet. She looks to be about Tarver's age. There's no taste of copper in my mouth so I know she's real, and not just a vision or hallucination.

"Identify yourselves," she says, her voice shaking but determined. I hear Tarver pull something out of his pocket and realize that it's his Major badge.

"Major Tarver Merendsen. This is Miss Lilac LaRoux. Now, I have to turn the command to you," he says fiercely, his voice steady but I notice that his feet are not.

"Penelope Clearwater. Half-Blood," the girl says hesitantly but confidently.

"Sorry?" I say as politely as I possibly can. Why should we care how much blood she has?

"What don't you understand?" She says in a fierce, kind of rude tone. "My name is Penelope Clearwater and my blood status is Half-Blood. What is your business here?"

"Our ship crashed. We landed on this planet. We thought it was uncivilized, but it doesn't seem like it anymore," I admit, figuring it's probably easier to just tell the truth rather than make something up on the spot. What if she reads minds?

"Your ship crashed?" Penelope repeats, slightly sympathetic, slightly disbelieving. "Like... a boat?"

"Space ship," Tarver corrects. He moves closer to Penelope. "Can you explain what Half-Blood means?" I watch Penelope look down and Tarver loosen his grip on the Gleidel.

"So you're not looking for me?" Penelope asks suspiciously, her voice relaxing.

"Penelope, we don't even know where the hell we are. We've just been looking for any form of help to get back home." I watch Penelope nod.

"Come with me," she says after a long silence. "Do you mind if I disillusion you two?"

"What?" Tarver and I say simultaneously.

"Make you invisible. It doesn't hurt, but you will feel heavy for a second. Trust me, it's only going to protect you," Penelope explains kindly. I walk forward, offering to go first. She taps me hard on the head with her stick and it feels as though something cold and wet is dripping down my neck. Tarver stares in disbelief before turning around and allowing Penelope to do the same to him. We follow Penelope into a small tent that is now visible to us.

There are two guys in the tent already, both sitting on the bottom bunk of a bed and listening to a radio.

"Harry, Ron, meet Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen," Penelope says to the guys. One of them is tall and gangly with long, unruly jet black hair and glasses and the other is tall with a long nose and long, wavy ginger hair. "They need help, and so do we—don't you dare look at me like that, Ronald. They're lost, and they don't seem to think this planet is very safe, and we can't Apparate off of it, I've tried. We're all screwed, and I think they can help," Penelope's voice is fierce and edgy. I can't help but admire it.

"That doesn't change the fact that they're Muggles and this is completely going against the Statue of Secrecy!" The ginger pipes up angrily. I glance up at Tarver who I can now see, and he looks just as bewildered as I feel.

"To hell with the Statue of Secrecy! The Ministry has already been taken over by Death Eaters and we're the most wanted people in the Wizarding World. Probably even more so than Sirius! Everybody in this tent needs to work together to get off this planet. I don't care if it plunges is straight back into the war and we all get murdered by Voldemort, it's better than our current situation. My name is Hermione by the way, not Penelope. She's my coverup. I'll explain everything later, but for now you only need to know one thing," Hermione says, choosing her words carefully.

"And what's that?" Tarver asks suspiciously. I look up at him, throat too tight to speak.

"We're on the run."


	2. Chapter 2: Tarver

**Tarver**

"We're on the run." I can't keep the words out of my head as I lay awake in bed. A real bed, I might add. Lilac is asleep beside me, her arm thrown around my neck and mine around her waist. Her head is in my chest and I can feel her breath creating slight ripples in my t-shirt. Hermione promised to tell us everything in the morning, but I still can't stop thinking about _why_ they're in hiding.

Another sleepless night. I feel Lilac curl and stretch next to me and her long nails dig into my shoulder as she holds it for support. I stand up and put my shirt on before unzipping the back of Lilac's dress for her. I turn as she removes the dirty, ripped emerald green ball gown and the boots belonging to a dead woman. She slips on some jeans and a flannel top that Hermione had lent to her for the time being.

"Breakfast?" Hermione asks as Lilac and I walk into the sitting room.

"How did you—" Lilac starts before Hermione cuts her off.

"Summoning charm. I just have to point my wand toward the entrance and say _accio eggs_ and it will come straight through. I promise you, Harry, Ron, and I will explain everything in just a few minutes. I'm not sure you'll believe us, it's pretty supernatural, but you deserve to know if you're going to be staying here for a while. How do you like your eggs?"

"Over easy, please," I say politely, sitting on one of the chairs. Lilac nods her agreement.

"Same for me." Lilac sits on the arm of my chair, wincing as I lean back. Hermione returns her attention to her stove, her bushy hair blowing with the speed of her turn. Lilac jumps and turns when we hear a noise behind us and I place a hand on her back.

"Calm down," I whisper, rubbing her back. "It's just the guys." Lilac releases a breath and I remove my hand.

"Merendsen, LaRoux," Harry greets, his face wary and his wand in his hand. I nod in a greeting. Lilac tenses next to me in the same way she always used to when I offered her my hand.

We sit in silence for a solid ten minutes while Hermione finishes our breakfast. Lilac's head is on my shoulder and her hand in mine. I decide to break the silence.

"How long have you been traveling?" Everyone jumps at the sound of my voice and Ron turns to face me.

"We've lost track of time but judging by the change in weather, probably five months," he says, his voice wary. I nod, unable to say anything.

"Have you found anything on this planet? Anything... odd?" Lilac pipes up next to me. Hermione whips around to face us, plates in her hands.

"There was a dead cat or bear or something in between next to a tree quite a while ago, and we've been hearing things... like, whispers almost. But we can't tell what they're saying." Hermione sets the plates on the table. I catch Lilac's eye; she looks just as terrified as I feel. We stand gingerly and sit at the table.

There is a painful silence in the room before Lilac speaks again.

"How did you guys get here? I heard you say something about not being able to Apparate _off_. Did you Apparate _on_?" She asks, her voice low. Hermione and Ron both look at Harry, eyes wide. Harry sighs before answering.

"We were at a wedding. There was an attack, and we had to get out as quickly as possible. I Apparated onto this planet, something I had heard of before. I don't know I expected, but it certainly wasn't this. I know that we're not extremely far from Corinth." Harry turned his head away from Lilac and I. He gets up, followed by Ron and Hermione.

"Excuse us for a second," Hermione said awkwardly. I glance at Lilac's bewildered face.

"They live in Corinth," Lilac breathes. I don't know whether or not it's a question.

"That's the way it seems."

"No, they do. I remember Hermione. My father taught her from first to fifth grade. She left when to go to a boarding school when we were eleven, I think it's called Hogwarts," Lilac whispers, her eyes on the ground. The three in the other room begin to argue.

"They deserve to know!"

"They don't _deserve_ anything! We don't know them!"

"They could very well be plotting to kill us!"

"Or they could be very nice people trying to _help_ us. They're in the same situation as us and none of us are getting off this planet unless we all work together. Lilac is the heiress of Roderick LaRoux, who built the Icarus spacecraft. She has at least something up her sleeve. We were best friends as children, her father taught me. And Tarver's a war hero, he has to know some way to defend himself and the four of us against creatures and whatever else this hell-hole has to offer. I know Lilac and I know that she's not planning on killing us. And she's totally in love with Tarver—" I snort over my breakfast and Lilac hits my shoulder. "I trust her judgment. So, you can trust me like you have for seven years, or you can leave and risk never getting off this planet. Your choice." I hear Hermione stand and walk out of the room. She catches Lilac's eye and smirks.

"Something you and Anna taught me," Hermione whispers. "Never take no for an answer."


End file.
